Installation Guide

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COLLAR CONDITIONING WITHIN EACH OBEDIENCE COMMAND
Never correct your dog with the e-collar without fi rst conditioning it to accept and understand the collar. This will take
a short period of time, but without the conditioning process, your dog will be dazed and confused about the discomfort
around its neck. It is easy to confuse your dog and undo a couple of months of good training in just a few minutes by
over-stimulating on a correction or correcting when it is not justifi ed. No corrections should occur until the conditioning
process has been successfully completed. The collar-conditioning process can be thought of as practice in accepting
electronic static stimulation. Your football coach didn’t send you on the fi eld without practicing the plays and likewise, we
do not want to send your dog into the world without an understanding of how to comfortably accept electronic correction.
USING AN E-COLLAR TO REINFORCE OBEDIENCE COMMANDS
“HERE”
Bolting can become a disastrous side-eff ect of e-collar conditioning if your dog is allowed to move away from your control.
Therefore, keep using the leash until the conditioning process is fi nished. Toss a few bumpers and work on obedience
drills in the training area. Check for that wagging tail which signals a good attitude. Then command “Here,” deliver a
brief correction on the correct level – paying close attention to the dog’s reaction – and then immediately command
“Here” again. Reward your dog with a stroke on the shoulder and verbal praise. Repeat “Here”-brief correction-“Here”
three to fi ve times on the fi rst day at various places in the work area while making sure that no two brief corrections
occur at the same spot. Your dog will receive at least three brief corrections, but no more than fi ve, during the fi rst couple
of sessions. If things are going well, you can go to fi ve. But, if your dog is nervous, stop at three. Continue the obedience
routine with no static stimulation for a little longer. Make sure rewards follow proper responses. Finish by throwing a
bumper or ball to each spot where your dog received static stimulation in an eff ort to show that the location had nothing
to do with why the correction occurred.
Pay close attention to your dog’s attitude during this routine. If momentum fades, use fewer brief corrections and more
play time. Increase the reward by adding a few extra shoulder strokes along with a happy tone of voice. Don’t be afraid
to skip a day if your dog shows repeated signs of too much pressure. This is not likely to occur if you are careful, but
understand how to overcome it just in case.
“SIT”
Next, it is time to condition your dog to sit and accept a correction while maintaining control in the seated position. Have
your dog do a quick obedience drill and command “Sit.” While the dog is seated, give a brief correction with the collar and
immediately command “Sit” again. If it moves around or gets up, return the dog to the seated position by using the leash.
Reward on the shoulder and verbally. Repeat the “Sit”-brief correction-“Sit” three to fi ve times per session. As before,
move around so you do not stimulate your dog at any spot more than once. Use a positive reward after each successful
brief correction.